


love of fate

by taeyonglovebot



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But not really angst because you know I don't work with that, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, So basically just fluff, also smut, but also very lowkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22351627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeyonglovebot/pseuds/taeyonglovebot
Summary: The most beatiful part of falling in love with you was watching the flowers blooming, the leaves turning and the snow falling as our love story was born -and the sun will be shining, the flowers will be blooming and the leaves will turn again– but time will be frozen for us.Or,the growth and development of Taeyong and Jaehyun's relationship since their pre-debut days troughtout the eyes of every NCT 127 member.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 35
Kudos: 306





	1. Jaehyun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Jaehyun: pre-debut**  
>  Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

Jaehyun chews on his bottom lip anxiously as he opens the nth door in search of Taeyong. It’s past 10pm and Jaehyun's currently at the company building. He got off class sooner than expected and decided to surprise a very special hyung of his but his plan was ruined when Yuta told him that Taeyong was still working at the studio. On his own. _Again_.

Finally, after twenty-or-so unsuccessful tries, Jaehyun opens the door to one of the smallest and least used practice rooms to find Taeyong sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor intensely watching something on the laptop.

He seems to not even have noticed Jaehyun's presence just yet so he softly knocks on the door, mimicking the sound with his prepuberty voice. At that, Taeyong looks up with wide eyes and an alarmed expression, probably expecting it to be a staff member yet again to tell him to go home already. But the moment Taeyong makes eye contact with Jaehyun, he visibly relaxes and turns his head back to the screen.

“Hyung, that’s enough for tonight,” Jaehyun says in a scratchy voice. The vocalist crosses his arms over his chest defiantly, and begins to tap his foot on the laminated floor as Taeyong continues to ignore him. Jaehyun purses his lips, glancing around the room. “It’s late… you should come home and just pick this back up when we all come back tomorrow.”

“I… I can’t yet,” Taeyong tells him, earning a sigh of exasperation from Jaehyun. “Now that I know I'll be the leader I need to make sure everything is perfect for our debut. If... If I screw this up, I screw up all of our chances, and I don't want that for any of you. I can’t have that on my shoulders.”

Jaehyun remains quiet for a moment, staring with an unreadable gaze at the older. He can see Taeyong pressing his lips together, looking more nervous than usually and Jaehyun hates to see that face on his hyung. He hates to see Taeyong struggling. He wants to see him happy. And smiling. And laughing. Possibly all the time. Taeyong looks the best when he’s happy and free of worries.

Jaehyun silently walks closer to Taeyong and when he’s at arm’s reach, he softly squeezes Taeyong’s shoulder, making the older nearly jump out of his skin. A few seconds later he sets his other hand atop his damp shirt, slowly sliding their way down from Taeyong’s shoulders. Taeyong remains rigidly still under Jaehyun and, even if Jaehyun can feel every fiber of his being on fire as he wraps his arms around Taeyong’s neck, he only hugs him tighter from behind.

“You’re already doing amazing, hyung,” Jaehyun softly says disentangling from Taeyong and sitting on the floor next to him. He’s only half disappointed about the fact that Taeyong didn’t hug him back, because he honestly doesn’t know if he could’ve stopped himself from kissing the older if he would’ve turned around. But Jaehyun would never take advantage of him like that since he knows that that it’s not what Taeyong wants. He doesn’t want him. It hurts, but Jaehyun is okay with it. He’s happy to just keep loving Taeyong and being his friend. Jaehyun tries to convince himself that that is more than enough for him.

Taeyong doesn’t say anything but he has stopped the video he was watching. That means he’s considering it. But now Taeyong’s nervously fidgeting with his fingers. And Jaehyun doesn't like that either.

“Come have dinner with me?” Jaehyun asks after a few seconds, finally breaking the silence that had followed his earlier words, taking Taeyong’s hands in his to hopefully stop his nervousness. Taeyong’s taken aback for a moment, having not expected such an offer. But it’s not the first time they’d do it, either. It used to be a tradition between the two of them, but they stopped doing it a few months back, when they became too busy preparing for their debut.

“Come on, Taeyongie hyungie!” Jaehyun practically whines, pulling Taeyong by the hand.

Jaehyun can see Taeyong trying to bite back a sigh as he allows himself to be tugged along, though he can also see the small smile and a soft pink flush appearing across his face and down his neck.

Taeyong gives Jaehyun a small nod, and closes the laptop. Jaehyun clears his throat, and stands up, offering his hand again to Taeyong, who takes it without hesitation.

And so, together, the two leave the building much more exhilarated than either would think possible. Jaehyun glances over at Taeyong as they walk, finding that radiant smile he’s come to adore so much. The older probably feels his gaze on him, and glances at Jaehyun out of the corner of his eye, only to see a look of absolute adoration and affection, a foolish, smitten smile blatant on Jaehyun’s handsome features.

Jaehyun finds himself slipping his own hand into Taeyong’s ever so gently before he can stop himself. The older is clearly surprised, judging by the way his eyes widen. A small laugh escapes Jaehyun before he can stop it, but this only brings the widest, purest smile Jaehyun has ever seen to Taeyong’s face, and Jaehyun feels himself getting much too attached already. Though, strangely, he doesn’t think he minds it. After all, his hyung deserves all the love in the world possible and, knowing he's one of the reasons Taeyong is happy fills him full of pride and satisfaction.

They finally come to a stop in front of a cute little samgyetang restaurant near the river. Jaehyun looks over to Taeyong, making sure he knows where they are. Taeyong smiles faintly, his eyes shining wistfully as the memories from all the past nights overtake his mind.

“You remember?” Jaehyun asks. Taeyong shyly smiles over at the younger, somewhat amused by the nervous tone to his voice.

“As if I could ever forget,” he replies, pressing himself closer to Jaehyun’s side. Pink dusts his cheeks in the most adorable of ways, and it’s Jaehyun’s incredible will what keeps him from kissing Taeyong right at that moment. Lately, Jaehyun notices, it’s been getting more and more difficult to not do it. For now, he’ll just remain content with squeezing Taeyong’s hand a bit tighter.

Despite now having enough money just in their pockets to buy one bowl for each, they still only buy one to share it. Taeyong eats noticeably less than Jaehyun, though, as he can tell the younger is obviously very hungry indeed.

By the time they finish eating, it's almost midnight. They linger on a bench, sitting as close as they dare to as they watch the beautiful shades of the bright moon reflect themselves against the water’s surface. Jaehyun glances over at Taeyong for the millionth time that day, his heart pounding a bit harder in his chest at the sheer love for this man. He leans over, casually resting an arm against the back of the bench.

“I, um,” Jaehyun mutters, kneading his bottom lip between his teeth, suddenly nervous, “not to quote High School Musical and ruin the moment, but we’re all in this together, hyung,” Jaehyun says, earning a snort from Taeyong, his warm breath tickling his ear against the chilly air. “You don’t have to do all the work alone. You have all of us,” and after a few moments, “you have _me_.” Taeyong looks over at him, beaming from ear to ear.

“Definitely.” He pauses to sigh, resting his head atop the younger’s shoulder. “Thank you, Jaehyunnie. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Jaehyun chuckles under his breath, his fingers gripping onto Taeyong’s arm to keep him warm and safe.

“Let’s never find out. I- I _love_ you, hyung… I’ll always be here for you.”

“I love you too, Hyunnie.”

Jaehyun deeply sighs. _Not the way I want to, though._

It’s not the first time Jaehyun confesses to Taeyong. And it definitely won’t be the last one, either. He knows Taeyong only sees him as his cute dongsaeng and friend and nothing more.

 _I’ll just have to work harder for you to notice me,_ Jaehyun thinks _. One day_ , _when things are easier, I’ll say it again and you’ll say it back, meaning it such as much as I do._

What Jaehyun doesn’t know yet, though, is that Taeyong does, in fact, mean it just as much as he does.


	2. Yuta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
>  **Yuta: after Fire Truck**  
>  Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

It’s late and it’s Wednesday and Yuta wants to go home. He feels trapped in the company meeting room they’re all gathered in. It’s been a long day. Between recording for various broadcasts and practicing different stages and even studying different languages, they have barely had a moment to breathe and do nothing.

Another long hour and they’d finally managed to make it home after their hectic day, but Donghyuck had insisted on watching a movie all together. They all easily agreed. After all, they felt as if they hadn’t managed to spend any real time only the seven of them because of how busy they’ve been since they debuted.

“When are those two coming back home?” Mark whines, laying down on his side of the couch, exasperated from the waiting. “I want my food so we can start watching the movie.”

Yuta hums, checking the time. It has definitely been more than half an hour since Jaehyun and Taeyong volunteered to go buy some snacks to the convenience store down the street for all of them. And they’re not back yet.

“We should’ve send another pair to do it or just order it online... we know how they can be when they’re on their own.”

Donghyuck chuckles, “I bet they haven’t even noticed the time and have been sending the other sparkling and dreamy eyes when the other isn’t looking.”

They all soundly laugh at that. Yuta has been there multiple times when that exact thing happened.

“Honestly though,” Taeil says, coming from the kitchen with a Coke on his hands, “how can they have not realized yet, that their feelings are reciprocated?” He sits down next to Sicheng's feet on the couch and continues, “Or maybe they know but are just too shy to admit it and act upon them.”

“I just hope they realize soon and are not afraid to be together,” Donghyuck adds. “Not only because they would be like the hottest couple in the Kpop industry,” he continues, with a mischievous gleam on his eyes, “but also because they would be perfect for each other.”

The second Donghyuck says the last syllable, the clicking of keys outside the door can be heard, and the next second Taeyong and Jaehyun enter, breathless and the remnants of laughter filling their mouths, tightly holding hands.

“Did you make a run all the way from the store?” Yuta asks, amusement all over his face.

Both Jaehyun and Taeyong exchange a shy glimpse and Taeyong lets out a nervous laugh. “W-we may have… lost track of time... so we run the moment we realized the hour.” Taeyong confesses, timidly, an obvious flush decorating his face. “Sorry about that, guys.”

Yuta shares a quick knowing glance with Taeil. “We forgive you, as long as you brought enough snacks for all.”

At that, Jaehyun, who is currently wearing a matching flush as Taeyong’s on his face and not looking at any of them, but instead was focusing on the floor, lifts his right hand–his left hand is still holding Taeyong’s right hand, Yuta notices– and shows the rest of the members the three big white paper bags they are carrying. “Plenty,” he says, with a big goofy smile on his face.

When they settle next to the rest of the group on the couch, Yuta gets in charge of preparing the snacks so they all can try them all more easily.

Taeyong is squished between Jaehyun and Yuta on the floor, their backs resting on the couch’s front. Yuta sees him pause, looking down at all the snacks they bought, now spread over the tea table. It’s cute how much effort he puts into deciding even when _he_ knows he’s going to end up eating the same as always at the end, anyways.

“I think I’ll have the chocolate cookies, if that’s okay with everyone?” he asks, eyes looking at them earnestly.

“Of course, hyung. I picked them up especially for you.” Yuta can’t see Jaehyun's face from where he’s seated but from his voice he _knows_ Jaehyun’s eyes are twinkling, actually gleaming as he looks at Taeyong.

“You specially bought snacks for every single one of us, Jaehyunie? How generous and nice of you to think of us all!” Yuta says, emerging from behind Taeyong’s frame with a sneaky grin on his face.

Jaehyun eyes widens upon realization. “I… well, T- Taeyong hyung- I know he really likes these so…” he tries to come up with an excuse fast but horribly fails, getting redder every second that passes.

Yuta lets a small smile slip onto his face. “It’s okay, buddy,” he replies shortly, feeling bad for making Jaehyun so flustered, and in front of his crush, who’s looking at him with the fondest eyes Yuta has ever seen him wear. And because he doesn’t want to embarrass him more than necessary, Yuta clears his throat. “Now that that’s all set, let’s start watching the movie, shall we?”

They’re just a few seconds into the movie when Yuta sees Taeyong slowly reaching for Jaehyun’s hand and interlace their fingers together. He is probably the only member who sees the act, since the room is dimly lit, only the television bringing some artificial light into the room. And even if Taeyong visibly leans closer to Jaehyun, Yuta still hears the words they shyly exchange.

“Thank you for always taking care and thinking about me, Jaehyunie.”

“Anytime and anything for you, Taeyongie.”

Yuta doesn’t know when it happens but when the movie finally finishes almost two hours later and they all start to get up to clean up the mess they made, he sees Taeyong comfortably resting his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder, and Jaehyun’s cheek squished on top of Taeyong’s head, both of them still holding hands.

He doesn’t know what’s going on between those two but Yuta tells himself that as long as they’re both happy, that’s all that really matters.


	3. Sicheng

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
>  **Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb**  
>  Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

Sicheng has no idea how it even started or what it's even about. All afternoon, he's simply been sitting comfortably on the couch, messing around on his phone, and enjoying the peace and quiet of a nearly empty dorm. Yuta, Doyoung, Johnny and Taeil went out to have lunch together and Mark and Donghyuck are with the rest of the Dreamies, while Taeyong and Jaehyun had gone off some time ago to one of the bedrooms together, and Sicheng isn't one to poke his nose into others' businesses.

As much as he loves his bandmates, Sicheng has always been a rather introverted individual, and he cherishes any opportunity to recharge his batteries, even if he spends it doing absolutely nothing. As an idol, alone time is especially precious, a wonderful, rare gift that can only be fully appreciated by being as unproductive and as lazy as possible.

And Sicheng is certainly up to the task, currently in the most nonproductive, lazy state he could come up with. He's bundled up in one of the group's blankets, wrapped around his shoulders and covering him up from head to toes so that only his hands are free, mindlessly fooling around on his phone, happy and at full liberty to relax like he has all the time in the world. Later on, he's planning to take an afternoon nap, just for the heck of it, then maybe watch some TV, or a nice movie.

Taeyong and Jaehyun are still off in their own little world. They had closed the door to the bedroom and have been in there for about thirty minutes now, so quiet that Sicheng had nearly forgotten that they were home too. He thinks that they must have fallen asleep… probably. He feels himself going a little warm at that thought. He thinks is best not to speculate too much about what they could be doing together, thinks is best to give them their privacy.

But as much as Sicheng has been trying to mind his own business, he can't help but notice that Taeyong and Jaehyun’s talking has gotten a little louder in the past couple of minutes, to the point that he can actually begin to make out their different voices, though he still can't tell what exactly they're saying to each other. What he can pick up on, however, is the strange, irritated edge to their conversation.

Sicheng realizes with a start that they must be having an argument and he's not really sure how he feels about that. It seems a bizarre, almost impossible scenario, Jaehyun and Taeyong fighting with each other, but Sicheng can't deny what his senses are telling him, he knows an argument when he hears one; he can tell from the tones, the pitch and the tense pauses in their sentences, the sharp bite to their words.

Sicheng wonders what could possibly be going on in there. He's rarely heard either of them raise their voice, not seriously, and especially not at each other. Taeyong and Jaehyun fit so well together, are so smitten with each other and understand each other so well, sometimes it feels like they share one mind. It amazes Sicheng to think how they can know each other so well and still not know how to confess their shared feelings for the other. And when they do have arguments, they're usually quick, usually cute small married-couple type bickering more than anything else, and usually over within minutes.

But this feels serious, and Sicheng grows uneasy as he notices their voices getting louder, and now he can even make out a few actual words. He's never heard them speak like this to each other before, and he briefly wonders if he should intervene. After all, it was always their group's policy that, whenever an argument broke out, an impartial third party would help to resolve it. Surely this wasn't their first fight after all of their years of friendship and they'd be able to resolve it by themselves, right? Sicheng’s mind spins with a whirlwind of thoughts as his desire to give them privacy conflicts with what he feels is his obligation as their bandmate to help them resolve their problem.

He sits there, frozen, unsure what to do, his hands going still.

Suddenly, the door of the bedroom is flung open, and Taeyong storms out with a red face, his cheeks puffed up and his eyebrows furrowed in anger. Sicheng is startled to see that his eyes are visibly wet even from a distance, shining with what must be barely-restrained tears as he stomps in fury towards the other bedroom, pulls open the door, rushes inside, and slams the door loudly behind himself with all of his might.

The silence that follows is thick, intense, and charged with a million different emotions that are completely palpable, hanging there like a thick smog in the air. Sicheng has no idea what to do, his chest burning with concern for his friends. Should he go check on Taeyong? On Jaehyun? Sicheng has never really been great at dealing with emotional things, especially fights, and he feels pretty awkward right now. He holds his breath, his whole body completely still, his ears open and listening for any sign of activity from either of his bandmates.

A few tense moments pass, and then Jaehyun finally emerges from the bedroom, slowly. His head hangs down, his hair covering his eyes, and his hands are stuffed into the front pocket of his black sweatpants. His face looks paler than usual, and his lip quivers slightly, his back slightly bent over in a withdrawn posture as he walks into the living room. He walks like he's wading through water, his movements sluggish, weak, defeated, and Sicheng feels upset just looking at him, almost like he's experiencing secondhand heartbreak.

As Sicheng watches him with wide eyes, Sicheng’s mouth opening and closing slightly as he tries to find words, any words, Jaehyun sits down carefully on the opposite side of the couch. He starts to fold into himself, brings his feet up onto the cushion and curls up in a little ball, wrapping his arms around his bent legs. He just sits there, breathing, staring off into space. Sicheng doesn't move an inch; he feels like he's watching a skittish animal that might bolt if he makes any sudden movements.

And then, like shattering glass, Jaehyun lets out a loud, broken sob, and presses his face down into his knees, his expression crumpling. Within seconds, there's water spilling down his cheeks, dripping down onto his lap and onto the cushion around him, his whole body trembling, and his back rises and falls with the heavy effort of each shaking breath.

"J-Jaehyun," Sicheng starts, carefully. "Is everything okay?" _Of course it's not Sicheng, get a grip of yourself._ "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sicheng keeps sitting there and watching, paralyzed with worry and confusion. He wants to help but this is really not his forte, dealing with upset members. Although, he thinks, helping Jaehyun is the least he can do for all of the things he has done for him since he entered SM. Sicheng knows that Taeyong is the type of person to want to be alone when he's upset, to calm himself down away from anyone else's eyes, so there's not much he can do there. But he thinks Jaehyun likes to vent, and the person he'll usually vent to… well, that person is the source of his anguish at the moment.

It's odd, seeing his big, strong, cheerful hyung like this, fragile and vulnerable with all of his grief pouring out at once. Sicheng knows that Jaehyun doesn't ever want to be pitied under any circumstances, but when he's upset, he always finds solace in an open ear and a comforting touch. And in this type of situation, those would all be Taeyong duties, calming him down, comforting him with sweet words and sweet touches.

Sicheng gets up then, blanket still wrapped around his shoulders like a cape, and goes to sit down next to Jaehyun on the couch, moving gently and cautiously. He lifts a hand to rest on Jaehyun’s broad back, and now that he can actually feel the tremors of Jaehyun’s body, his stomach drops, and he feels cold, he feels sick at seeing Jaehyun so upset. Still, he calmly keeps his hand there, a solid support.

Jaehyun lifts his head from his knees, but he still won't look Sicheng in the eye. His own eyes are wet, red, and puffy, and he wipes at them with the backs of his hands, sniffling and trying to hold in some of the tears as he speaks in a thick, watery voice.

"Hyung is so... stubborn sometimes," he says to Sicheng, quietly, no strength to his words. "I just want to help him and he gets so defensive."

Sicheng doesn't really know what to say, so he just rubs Jaehyun’s back gently, letting him know that he's still there and listening.

"I just want to help him," Jaehyun repeats, his voice shaking. "I… I _love_ him, Sichengie."

Sicheng holds his breath, eyes widen in shock. He wasn’t expecting that. He knew–of course he knew, you would have to be pretty dumb and blind to not see it, but it’s still a surprise to hear it from Jaehyun’s mouth.

Jaehyun pauses and finally turns to look at Sicheng, right into Sicheng’s eyes and Sicheng can't help his sharp intake of breath, both at the heartfelt confession and the look on Jaehyun’s face, the emotions churning in his eyes. There's concern, frustration, distress, but most of all, there's love–so much love, and so much care, devotion, tenderness. It's like Jaehyun’s heart is wide open and bleeding out through his gaze.

Sicheng isn't used to this, doesn't know how to deal with it. He and Jaehyun are good friends, probably best friends, but Jaehyun has never before been so open with him. He feels like he's seeing a completely different side of him. And Sicheng feels strange about it, what it means, but he thinks he might understand.

This is Jaehyun in love, so completely and overwhelmingly in love, and so scared, scared that he might've ruined everything.

And suddenly, like flipping on a switch, Sicheng knows exactly the right thing to say.

"He _loves_ you too," Sicheng murmurs, continuing to rub Jaehyun’s back and not breaking eye contact, looking at him with assurance and a tiny, soft smile. "You know that. You know that one-hundred percent.”

Jaehyun has stopped crying by now, his lips parting slightly in surprise. But his gaze is warm, appreciative, and he's almost able to smile.

"And he knows you love him too," Sicheng continues, "he knows, one-hundred percent, how much you care about him and your intentions were good. So don't worry. It'll all be okay."

Jaehyun goes silent again, his eyes wide, and there's a pause, a moment of stillness between them, and Sicheng feels like he can see right into Jaehyun’s soul at that moment, he's so raw and so completely exposed.

"Just wait," Sicheng says, patting Jaehyun’s back one last time. He then stands up and returns to his original spot on the couch. Jaehyun is still looking at him in awe and Sicheng smiles once more, glancing at Sicheng and speaking from his heart.

"You know he'll always come back to you," Sicheng says.

He's not sure where that sudden burst of sentimentality came from. Sicheng never thought he had it in him to say something so mushy, but he's glad to have said it, because just like that, the cloud of grief is lifted from the room. Jaehyun takes a deep breath, and he actually smiles this time, his eyes still wet but with a different kind of feeling, and he nods in gratitude as Sicheng returns his attention to his game.

Jaehyun rests his chin on his knees again, arms wrapping around his legs tighter, and he looks back off into space, at nothing in particular, slipping deep into thought, looking a lot more relieved, hopeful, the tension gone from his body. He didn't need to be reassured about Taeyong, he needed to be reassured about himself, that what he knows and feels and trusts in his heart is true and unshakable. Jaehyun’s eyes are twinkling now with something nice, and Sicheng knows without asking that he's thinking about Taeyong.

The room goes quiet again, Taeyong still locked away in the bedroom and Jaehyun sitting silently on the other side of the couch. Now all that's left to do is to keep Jaehyun company while Taeyong calms down enough to approach Jaehyun himself, as Sicheng is sure he will.

Sicheng puts his phone on the table after a while and lies down on his side for his afternoon nap, wrapping the blanket up over his head so that he's in a sort of blanket cocoon, only his face visible so that he can breathe.

Just as Sicheng is about to drift off for real, he hears the sound of the bedroom door opening, slowly, apprehensively, a small squeak of wood on hinges, and shy, nervous footsteps walking towards the living room. Jaehyun hears it too, and he lifts his head at the sound, looking towards the hallway with determined eyes. Sicheng curls further into his cocoon and pretends to be asleep, his eyes only open just barely enough to see directly in front of him into the center of the living room.

Taeyong suddenly steps in, his eyes red and puffy from crying, a perfect match to Jaehyun’s, and his cheeks flushed in blotches of vibrant red. He looks exhausted, completely wrung out, and all of that anger that Sicheng had seen in his eyes before is gone. Now, he just looks lost, scared, like a small, frightened child, absentmindedly playing with his hands in front of him. Sicheng suddenly realizes how frail Taeyong looks, how thin he's gotten since they debuted, almost like he's being crushed under the weight of the world.

He stops in the center of the living room, right in Sicheng’s line of vision, and locks eyes with Jaehyun, who stands up immediately and looks right back at him, his lips parting into a soft, heart shape and his eyes wide and bright. They just look at each other for a few seemingly endless moments, and from his spot on the couch Sicheng watches this all unfolding, feeling increasingly like he's witnessing something private. Obviously they think he's asleep, but he also gets the feeling they may have completely forgotten he's even there, or even in the same building, or even on the same planet.

There's a beat of silence, and then Taeyong is rushing into Jaehyun’s arms, the two of them meeting each other in the middle and embracing tightly. Taeyong throws his arms around Jaehyun’s shoulders and buries his face into Jaehyun’s neck, letting out a noise that sounds somewhere between a whimper and a sob. Sicheng can't see Taeyong’s face from this angle, but he can see Jaehyun’s, and he’s crying again, though this time, the tears come still and silently. They're happy tears, relieved tears as he holds Taeyong close, running his large hands up and down Taeyong’s back while Taeyong shakes with sobs and sniffles through his own fresh wave of tears.

This is not the first time Sicheng has witnessed such an emotional moment between these two; although now the feeling is something more like relief, a reassurance of their mutual devotion, trust, and deep, deep affection for each other.

To everyone else, Taeyong is still known for being the ice prince: serious, proud, reserved. But Sicheng remembers Jaehyun talking about how Taeyong was really the baby of the group, and how he enjoyed being taken care of and tenderly loved. Taeyong feels a lot of pressure as the group's leader, main rapper and dancer, center and face; many expectations, responsibilities, and obligations fall onto him, but he also has his own personal ambition, a need to be respected and appreciated for his talents and what's undoubtedly an unassuming first impression to all who meet him.

Taeyong and Jaehyun stay right where they are, holding each other so tightly, pressed together so close for a long time, and Sicheng wonders for a moment if they might stay like that all night. It seems that the two of them are always full of surprises when they're together, always surprising everyone's expectations.

But, just when Sicheng begins to seriously consider allowing himself to doze off and miss out on the end of this emotional moment, they finally unwind from each other, if only just barely to look each other in the eyes and speak to each other with sincerity. Taeyong’s hands drop down to rest on Jaehyun’s shoulders while Jaehyun’s drop down to grip Taeyong’s waist, lightly.

They don't speak for a few more seconds, their eyes darting around each other's faces in wonder, before settling again, and it's Taeyong who finally breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry," he says, quietly, his eyes still wet and shining like stars.

"Hyung, it's alright." Jaehyun murmurs, rubbing his hands up and down on Taeyong’s waist.

"No, really," Taeyong continues, squeezing Jaehyun’s shoulders gently and looking sad and remorseful. "I overreacted. I'm very sorry."

"And really, it's alright," Jaehyun says with a small chuckle, gently squeezing Taeyong’s waist in return. "I'm sorry too. I know your feelings, I know it's a sensitive issue for you. I shouldn't have been so forthright, I should've heard all you had to say first. I just get so worried when you start talking about yourself like that."

He leans forward until their foreheads are touching, moving his arms up from Taeyong’s waist to wrap around his back and pull him in close again, and both of their eyes slip closed. They're speaking against each other's mouths now, their lips just barely touching and Sicheng can't help but blush a little at how romantic it is, again feeling guilty, like he's intruding on something not meant for him or anyone else. He curls a little tighter into his blanket out of reflex, but neither of them seem to notice.

"You know why I got so upset. You know it's because I care, right?" Jaehyun hums, brushing his nose against Taeyong’s.

"I know," Taeyong says with a soft exhale, a pretty pink splashing across his face.

"We'll talk it through, okay?" Jaehyun whispers, leaning back to look into Taeyong’s eyes again. "We'll figure it out."

He finally removes his hands from around Taeyong’s body and brings them up to cup his face, tilts Taeyong’s head upward to look at him and rubs his thumbs over tear-stained pink cheeks, Taeyong’s hands falling down to Jaehyun’s sides. It's such a sweet gesture, and Sicheng really feels guilty now for witnessing this without their knowledge but he’s certainly not going to reveal himself now and ruin this moment.

As they stand there, looking at each other so lovestruck in the stillness of the quiet, empty dorm, Sicheng thinks that for sure they're about to kiss, that Jaehyun is about to lean down and capture Taeyong’s lips, and Sicheng will have to shut his eyes and count backwards from one-hundred, pretend like he's not here and fully awake and watching all of this unfold; he's willing to play unconscious for the sake of letting them have their special moment.

But instead, Jaehyun leans down and kisses the tip of Taeyong’s nose, light like a snowflake, then moves up to kiss his forehead, Taeyong closing his eyes again and scrunching up his nose, the blush on his cheeks going deeper and his mouth falling open at the gentle touch of Jaehyun’s lips.

Taeyong pulls back and Sicheng can see a soft gleam in his eyes as he drops his hands from Jaehyun’s shoulders to take one of Jaehyun’s hands into one of his own, leading them both back towards one of the bedrooms. Jaehyun looks giddy and suddenly can't stop smiling as he follows Taeyong and the two of them disappear from Sicheng’s sigh. He lets out a sigh of relief and uncurls, only realizing now that he had been tense all over, trying his best not to move or make a sound while the lovebirds were reconciling in front of him.

It really seems like those two were made for each other in a cosmic way, like the universe itself wanted them to be together, like they were always meant to find each other and to fall into each other's arms throughout all of life's most significant moments. The good, the bad, all of it was meant for them to experience together.

When Sicheng looks at Taeyong and Jaehyun, he thinks he might understand why people believe in soulmates.


	4. Donghyuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
>  **Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb**  
>  Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

"Look," Donghyuck says, "they're doing it again."

He tries his best to keep his voice down, though with the cacophony of noise all around them, Donghyuck doubts even Mark, who's sitting right there next to him, can hear his words very clearly.

Mark mumbles something unintelligible in response, clearly not paying Donghyuck any attention at all. He's busy fiddling with the controls, his eyes on the computer screen, trying to make the beat of the song they’re working on sound smoother. Donghyuck hits Mark on his shoulder and huffs a little in frustration at being blatantly ignored even if they’re on their short break.

"What's up?" Mark asks, finally humoring him and granting some disgruntled eye contact.

"Taeyong hyung and Jaehyun hyung," Donghyuck says, a little louder and more insistent this time, pulling on Mark’s arm for added emphasis.

They're in the company building, in one of the biggest studios considering the amount of members they have, preparing for their comeback for the first time in a while. It's been a few hours since they've been recording and it was when they were finally starting to make some progress on the fourth track that their manager allowed the members who weren’t recording m a few minutes for a break.

The room is pretty packed right now as all the members, managers and teachers shuffle in and out. Donghyuck can see the production crew walking around in all directions, making decisions and talking about things he didn’t even know had to be discussed.

To Donghyuck, the studios always feel like a gateway between worlds, timeless and spaceless, like some sort of limbo where they lose track of the time. There are no windows, all soundproof walls keeping them away from the outside world for a while.

Donghyuck is currently leaning up against the wall next to Mark, who’s sitting in the middle of the room, people-watching. Well, Donghyuck is people-watching. Mark is still going on about what could be changed and arranged in the song. Donghyuck can see Johnny and Yuta laughing at something on Johnny’s phone while Sicheng texts someone on his phone next to them. He's not sure where Doyoung and Taeil are, but Donghyuck knows for a fact that they’ll probably scramble back in at the last five minutes, like always.

All that leaves is the current target of Donghyuck’s interest and one of the most fascinating ways that he's found to fight off the drag of boredom. When all else fails, and he's exhausted all other means of entertainment, he can always count on Taeyong and Jaehyun to keep him occupied and amused. And charmed. Because in all honestly, they're really, really adorable.

Right now, they're standing on the other side of the room, and there's this aura of sweet, rosy softness surrounding them, palpable even to an outsider. They're taking some selfies together on one of their phones, Jaehyun’s arm wrapped around Taeyong’s waist, both of them with bright smiles and lightly-flushed cheeks, Taeyong looking unusually shy and Jaehyun looking unusually protective, his presence around Taeyong distinctly strong and sheltering like he's guarding Taeyong from the dangers of the world.

He rests his head on Taeyong’s shoulder as Taeyong snaps a photo, the both of them leaning into each other like they want to fuse together. There might as well be little cartoon hearts floating around them as Jaehyun lifts his head and turns a little to rub his nose at Taeyong’s cheek, just for a second, leaving Taeyong blushing a deep red and flustered as hell, nearly dropping the phone. It's teeth-achingly sweet and although he knows that he should respect their privacy and, like everyone else, pretend that he can't see a thing, Donghyuck just can't look away.

He's getting a little pissed off now at Mark’s lack of interest, because he really, really needs someone to bounce his thoughts off of.

"Look at them," Donghyuck hisses, tugging at Mark’s shoulder this time, "they're being all... you know..."

"So what?" Mark says, wrenching himself out of Donghyuck’s grasp and finally standing from the computer screen to face him.

"So, should we... I don't know," Donghyuck replies. "Should we say something to them? Ask them about it? Don't tell me you're not dying to know what's really going on there."

Mark sighs, shaking his head. "It's really none of our business," he says. "If they want to tell us, they'll tell us."

"Do you think they've kissed?" Donghyuck asks, ignoring Mark's remark.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that we should really just leave them alone," Mark finishes, picking up his phone and sitting on the couch next to them, making it clear that the conversation is over.

"Ughhhhhh," Donghyuck groans, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head against the wall in defeat.

After a minute, he opens his eyes again and returns his attention to the real-life mushy romance drama unfolding before his eyes. Now, Taeyong and Jaehyun are looking through the pictures they took together on the phone, and Jaehyun’s hand has slipped down to rest on one of Taeyong’s hips. Even from across the room, Donghyuck can see the slight tremble in Taeyong’s fingers, grasping the phone with both hands swiping with his right thumb as Jaehyun hovers over his shoulder.

Donghyuck can't help but grin widely at seeing their usually fierce and dominating leader looking so tiny with an undeniably lovestruck smile adorning his face as he goes through their selfies.

Suddenly, one of their vocal teachers goes over to Jaehyun and attempts to pull him away from Taeyong to add some final vocal backgrounds to one of the songs. Jaehyun pouts but complies, giving Taeyong a small and sad little wave as he's rushed away to the recording booth. Taeyong sets down the phone on a table and stands there for a second, unsure of what to do, then finally moves to sit down on one of the room couches, looking quite disappointed, fiddling with the lock necklace that he's wearing.

Before Mark can stop him, Donghyuck’s already standing up again and heading towards Taeyong. He plops down onto the couch beside him, grinning wide like the Cheshire Cat.

"What are you so happy about?" Taeyong asks, one eyebrow raised in suspicion, though Donghyuck can still see the lingering blush splashed across his cheeks.

"Oh, nothing," Donghyuck says. He can feel Mark’s eyes staring angry holes into the back of his head, but he continues on. "Jaehyun hyung looks really good today, right?"

"Uh, I guess?" Taeyong says, tilting his head a little in feigned confusion. But he can't fool Donghyuck, his face is starting to darken again at the mere mention of their bandmate.

"I mean, he always looks good," Donghyuck goes on, "but today he's just, like, perfect, you know? That plain black shirt just looks so good on him, all stretched taut across his chest, and the way the sleeves just hug his biceps..." Donghyuck leans back, a hand over his heart for dramatic effect. "He's even got my heart fluttering a little.

Taeyong’s face has gone bright red again, his eyes wide, clearly at a loss for words. "W-what are you...?" he stammers.

"And even though he's big and strong, we all know what a softy he really is," Donghyuck continues, "which somehow just makes him even a better catch! I bet he's so gentle and sweet and would treat you really well, you know? Like, he'd be a real romantic, all about flowers and stars and warm hugs and that kind of stuff."

Donghyuck has to ball his hands into fists to contain his laughter at Taeyong’s face, so flustered and panicked, just random sounds coming out of his throat as he struggles to respond. Donghyuck decides that it's time to go in for the kill.

"That's not to say he wouldn't know when to use his strength," Donghyuck says, his eyes starting to tear up a little with the effort it's taking to maintain a straight face. "I mean, can't you just imagine him picking you up like you weigh nothing, then throwing you down onto a bed and–"

"That's enough," Mark interrupts, having suddenly appeared right over them. He rolls his eyes and roughly tugs Donghyuck off the couch by his arm, pulling him away and looking at Taeyong apologetically.

"I’m sorry hyung, so much recording has fried his brain and he doesn’t know what he’s saying," Mark says, exasperated.

Taeyong blinks in shock, his face redder than Donghyuck has ever seen it in all of the time that they've known each other. Mark drags Donghyuck away to the other side of the room, Donghyuck having finally lost it and laughing his ass off as they go. When they're a good distance away, Mark spins him around by the shoulders. He looks considerably annoyed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asks.

"Oh, lighten up," Donghyuck replies, still giggling, "I was just teasing him. You know I really care about them. I just want them to talk about their obvious feelings towards the other. I'm just trying to make the process faster."

"Whatever," Mark says, shaking his head. "Just leave them alone. Seriously. Okay?"

Donghyuck simply sticks his tongue out in response, earning yet another exaggerated, incredulous sigh.

A few hours later, their managers gathers them together to head back to the dorm. Jaehyun immediately goes to Taeyong’s side as if drawn in by a magnet and, once again, Donghyuck is focused on the oh-so-adorable lovebirds.

Now, Jaehyun is adjusting Taeyong’s scarf, his fingers gentle and lingering on Taeyong’s cheeks, Jaehyun looking so affectionate and Taeyong looking so smitten that it feels like they both might just burst into a cloud of sparkly, pink fairy dust. It's sickeningly sweet and it's got Donghyuck suppressing the urge to squeal at the sight. They turn the lights off of the studio and head back to the car. As the nine of them start to walk, Donghyuck creeps up behind Jaehyun, seizing the opportunity for one last minute of fun.

"Hey hyung," he whispers, and Jaehyun jumps a little in surprise.

"What's up, Hyuckie?" Jaehyun asks.

"Isn’t Taeyongie hyung so cute today?" Donghyuck says, nodding his head in the direction of their leader. Donghyuck can't help but giggle as he follows the path of Jaehyun’s gaze over to the other side of the parking.

"It's just so adorable how he tries to be all tough and manly most of the time," Donghyuck continues, "but he's really just such a sweet little cupcake. I mean... look at those cheeks! They even match his pink hair! And his cute little nose, awww. He really does look like a little kitty. And those big, sparkly anime eyes of his. Don't you just want to kiss and cuddle him to death?"

Jaehyun’s eyes flit back to Donghyuck, and though he does a better job of deflecting than Taeyong had, Donghyuck can still see the telltale glimmer of softness in his eyes.

"Um..." Jaehyun starts, fidgeting a little in place.

"And... not to be weird..." Donghyuck interrupts, "but like... he's really got a great body, doesn't he? Everything about him is just so sweet and dainty. He's like a little doll! And I bet he makes the cutest little sounds when–"

“HYUCK” Mark suddenly says a little too loud with a fake smile, “come sit next me in the car.”

Donghyuck claims a marvelous victory as he gets a glimpse of the vibrant blush spreading over Jaehyun’s face and down his neck.

Donghyuck may not know what exactly is happening with Taeyong and Jaehyun, how deep their relationship goes or what will happen with them in the future, but what he does know is that no matter what, he's going to be having a lot of fun with it.


	5. Taeil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
>  **Taeil: after Cherry Bomb**  
>  Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

Taeil is not exactly drunk, but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't starting to notice the effects of all of the alcohol in his system. He feels loose and warm all over, light, floaty, the aches in his muscles and the migraine that had been relentlessly pounding at his head all gone, drifted away like a dandelion spore.

Today was their last day of their Cherry Bomb promotions, and since they couldn’t go out to celebrate their first ever win before, they decided to go tonight. Their manager had allowed them the evening free, granted they were back by curfew and stayed in the vicinity of their dorm.

And so, the seven of them (Mark and Donghyuck stayed at the dorm resting for their upcoming Dream comeback) had wandered around for a while until they stumbled upon a tiny cheap-looking little place. As they went inside, they were greeted with upbeat music, dim but cozy lighting, and the loud chatter of groups of friends getting together, just as they were, to relax and unwind after a long and successful week.

They're seated in a large booth way in the back of the restaurant, all crowded together and piled on top of each other. What had once been mountains of food in the center of the table is now empty plates, and the evidence of their drinking can be seen clearly in the empty bottles standing around.

Although the restaurant had been totally packed when they had first arrived, the crowd had gradually thinned out, and now it's just down to the seven of them and a few other customers. The staff are cleaning up and have already turned down the music a little bit so Taeil figures that it must be closing time soon.

All seven of them are currently at varying levels of drunkenness, almost like some twisted sort of spectrum. And it's really funny actually.

Sicheng is completely out, stretched across the booth with his head in Taeil’s lap, dozing quietly, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. He's the only one of them not drunk at all, he hadn't even touched any of the alcohol. In truth, he's just sleepy.

On the other side of Sicheng and towards the edge of their side of the booth is Doyoung. He's only a little buzzed, his cheeks slightly flushed and his eyes a little glazed over, a lazy smile on his face as he chuckles at the others' antics.

Across the table, on the other side of the booth, Yuta is fairly wasted; he's not completely gone but he's close enough. As Taeil has come to learn, Yuta is unpredictable when drunk. Today, he's even chattier than usual, and has been going nonstop for what feels like hours, his words starting to slur.

Taeil is sitting at the edge on that side of the booth, leaning up against a considerably drunk Johnny, who's the same as usual except he's smiling even more, his eyes crinkled up and his cheeks dark red. Taeil figures his face must hurt by now, but Johnny’s so far gone that Taeil knows that he probably doesn't care one bit.

After Johnny and Yuta is Jaehyun. He's quieter than usual, almost introspective, still nursing the half-empty bottle in front of him.

And finally, sitting right across from Taeil, is Taeyong. And he is absolutely fucking trashed.

His mouth is hanging open and his whole face is pink, his eyes half-lidded and a little watery as he tries to focus what must be very blurry vision. His cheeks and lips look puffy and plump, the tip of his nose and his ears bright red and his head tilted slightly in confusion at whatever Yuta is saying. It's truly amazing how Taeyong can manage to look so adorable and innocent doing literally anything, even being drunk off his ass.

But the really fascinating part of Taeyong’s current state is how he's just casually sitting halfway in Jaehyun’s lap, his head resting on Jaehyun’s chest and his arms wrapped tightly around Jaehyun’s waist like he won't ever let him go. And the sounds he's making are... something else. Taeil can't quite tell if Taeyong’s whimpering or moaning, but something weird is happening every time Jaehyun shifts in his seat. Not that Jaehyun seems to mind at all that Taeyong is shamelessly using him as a human pillow. In fact, he’s got an arm slung around Taeyong’s shoulder like he's the one afraid that Taeyong might want to leave.

Taeil grins. If Yuta wasn't so drunk and so focused on himself right now, there's no way he'd be able to resist commenting, interrogating them as usual. They've all been trying for months to get Jaehyun and Taeyong to admit that there's something going on between them. Though both Taeyong and Jaehyun have yet to spill the details, they haven't exactly denied it either.

"And so," Yuta says, concluding what has definitely felt like a two-hour lecture, "if we think about the Multiverse Theory, then somewhere out there, there's another universe, a parallel universe, exactly like this one in every way, except in this other universe... we're Girls’ Generation and they're us."

A long silence follows Yuta’s declaration, all of them just staring at each other. Someone coughs somewhere on the other side of the restaurant, and one of the bottles falls off of their table onto the floor. It seems that Yuta has finally run out of things to say.

"Hey Jaehyun," Taeil says, breaking the silence, "I wanted to tell you before... you did really well with the fans today."

Jaehyun smiles, pushes his drink away. "Thanks. But I had no clue what I was doing. I was just lucky that everyone liked it."

"No really, I mean it," Taeil says. "You're really good with them, and they love you."

"Taeil’s right," Doyoung says. "You've gotten so popular lately. I wouldn't be surprised if you become famous for it.”

The others murmur in agreement. "Yeah," Yuta pipes up, "soon, everyone's going to be fighting over you."

"Noooooo," Taeyong whines, hugging Jaehyun’s waist even tighter.

Jaehyun smiles a little nervously, his ears going crimson red. And everyone laughs, because it's so cute and Taeyong’s so drunk that he probably doesn't even know what he's saying.

"I've heard other idols talking about you too," Yuta continues. "It seems like you're becoming really well-known." He leans back and smirks, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"It's true," Doyoung adds, "I heard someone talking about you the other day when we were waiting to go on for our stage."

"I'm sure you're going to start getting some propositions soon," Yuta says, "you know, for dates."

"No! Don't say that," Taeyong whines, louder this time.

He suddenly unwinds himself from around Jaehyun and crawls into Jaehyun’s lap, straddling Jaehyun’s hips. Taeyong’s facing Jaehyun now and looking at him with such a wild, heated look that it sends a chill coursing through Taeil’s body.

It's so shocking and sudden that none of them know what else to do but laugh.

"Taeyong, it's alright," Yuta says, chuckling and raising his eyebrows, "no need to be so upset."

Taeyong squirms in Jaehyun’s lap. Tiny, desperate little whimpers spilling out of his mouth. "Don't say things like that," he says. "Jaehyunnie is mine, all mine."

Johnny laughs but also looks a little nervous. "Hey, Taeyong..." he says softly, like trying to calm a frightened animal.

Jaehyun’s face is flushed dark red and his hands grip Taeyong’s waist tentatively, like he doesn't even realize he's doing it, like it was a reflex that he wasn't even aware of. His eyes are locked onto Taeyong, and he's completely still, holding his breath.

Something in the air changes and the table goes completely quiet. Sicheng stirs on Taeil’s lap-he had almost forgotten he was there.

Taeyong takes Jaehyun’s face between his hands, so tender and gentle, his eyes fluttering, and looks down at him with an adoring gaze. Jaehyun’s grip on Taeyong’s waist visibly tightens, his eyes going half-lidded.

"You're mine, right?" Taeyong murmurs, so softly that Taeil almost misses it. "Only mine?" He rubs his thumbs along Jaehyun’s cheeks, looking right into Jaehyun’s eyes.

Taeyong shifts a little again in Jaehyun’s lap and this time Jaehyun lets out a little moan, and it sends a shot of heat racing up Taeil’s spine.

They're all holding their breath in stunned silence. Jaehyun’s eyebrows furrow. "Only yours," Jaehyun breathes out.

Taeyong closes his own eyes and leans down to press their foreheads together, their noses touching and their lips centimeters apart. They act as if they aren't being watched, as if they're all alone in their own world, completely hidden away from everything and everyone else.

Taeil’s blood runs cold and then hot as Taeyong starts to roll his hips forward, ever so slightly.

At that, everyone sobers up fast. Taeil is too stunned to move, but Johnny and Doyoung jump out of their seats, Johnny knocking Yuta into the floor in the process. Poor Sicheng is startled awake from all of the commotion as he looks around at them all confused.

Johnny swiftly pulls Taeyong off of Jaehyun’s lap like he weighs nothing, Johnny’s smile completely gone and his face full of panic. Doyoung glances around frantically to make sure that none of the other customers saw what just happened as Yuta just sputters in confusion, for once completely at a loss for words.

Taeyong stumbles in Johnny’s arms, whining and whimpering and still reaching for Jaehyun. His eyes are tearing up and Taeil realizes with a jolt that he's aroused, the telltale bulge visible in his jeans.

Jaehyun leans back against the booth, his chest rising and falling as he breathes hard, blushing, his legs spread wide and his eyes still locked on Taeyong’s. Taeil can't stop himself from looking down and when he sees what's happening in Jaehyun’s pants, his head spins.

Everything feels surreal right now. Did he really almost just witness his bandmates doing _that_ and in public? It all happened so fast, Taeil’s brain is still trying to catch up and process all of the new information.

"It's getting late," Johnny announces, as they all slowly regain their composure. He's still holding up Taeyong, who looks like he might pass out any second now. "It's time to go."

As they scramble out of the booth and gather their things, Taeyong goes limp in Johnny’s hold, his eyes rolling back and then falling shut. He's out.

Before Johnny can stop him, Jaehyun comes over and gently pulls Taeyong out of Johnny’s arms, then maneuvers him until he's resting against Jaehyun’s back, his arms draped over Jaehyun’s shoulders.

"I got him," Jaehyun says, looking at Johnny with determination. With that, Jaehyun hoists Taeyong up and takes hold of his thighs, carrying Taeyong piggyback as he dozes off, his head moving to rest on Jaehyun’s shoulder.

As they all leave the restaurant, Sicheng still trying to figure out what the hell just happened, Taeil looks back at Taeyong and Jaehyun. Jaehyun’s still a little tipsy, but the look in his eyes as he checks on Taeyong is so sincere and earnest, full of the soft kind of affection that makes Taeil understand why they might want to keep their relationship to themselves. After all, people can have their suspicions but, if nobody knows about it, nobody can take it away from them.


	6. Taeyong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
>  **Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb**  
>  Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

After the celebration they had together at that restaurant a few days ago in honour of getting their first win ever, Taeyong is not surprised when the members started to get sick. It was a cold night after all, and they returned to their dorm later than planned, with clothes too thin for the cool breeze. It is a surprise though, when Taeyong’s not one of them, considering how wasted he was at the end of the night.

There are many drawbacks when it comes to living with eight other men, in Taeyong’s opinion. They’re messy and loud, and when one of them gets sick, they all get sick due to their unending clinginess.

So, when Sicheng wakes up one day with yet another cold, Taeyong can see all too well how this is going to turn out.

He’d warned them about keeping distance, but did they listen? They most certainly did not.

Yuta and Taeil had been the first to fall to the sickness, but that’s always how it is, knowing how close they are to the Chinese. And when Yuta got sick, Johnny and Doyoung quickly followed suit. Mark and Donghyuck, lucky them, had escaped to the Dreamies’ dorm once again as soon as it started to get real bad.

This leaves Taeyong with almost nowhere to go for safety. He chances aiding them in their recovery as much as possible, but he can’t do much considering all the responsibilities and duties he has as the leader.

However, there is one place he can go… and that’s to Jaehyun’s bedroom. They still have to talk about what happened _that_ night, so he might as well take this chance to do so. In all honesty, Taeyong doesn’t want to–he’d rather keep his feelings buried deep inside his heart, right where they have been for the past years–but he knows they really should clear some things up, at the very least.

That’s his excuse when he suddenly hears the sound of his own voice, asking Jaehyun if he can sleep with him, after he makes sure the rest of the members are all tucked in safely in their beds.

The younger doesn’t seem fazed or taken aback by Taeyong’s question, which he considers a win. Jaehyun is smiling, and he seems a little surprised, sure, but there’s nothing rejective about his expression or body language.

“Sure,” he murmurs, and if Taeyong knew that he was going to say that then he would’ve asked him this a _long_ time ago.

Jaehyun gets in his bed and Taeyong lays down beside him, at a safe distance. It’s nice. It’s more than nice. Taeyong feels more comfortable and safe than ever before. Jaehyun has been a little taller than him for a while now so Taeyong can easily just nuzzle his face into the crook of his neck… if he was brave enough to go through with it while sober, that is.

He can’t help but think about what it would be like if he turned his head and leaned in a little closer and kissed Jaehyun. What would Jaehyun do if Taeyong did that? Would he push him away and kick him out of his bed or would Jaehyun kiss him back? Maybe he would roll on top of Taeyong, kiss him everywhere–his mouth, cheeks, maybe he would trail soft kisses down his neck.

Jaehyun shifts a little beside him, and he’s brought back to reality. So he picks up his phone and plays with it for a while, trying desperately to block out those thoughts.

Jaehyun groans and makes a vague gesture towards the device. “Put that thing away for once,” he says, sounding sluggish and it’s so incredibly adorable that it’s not fair. “Sleep, hyung. You need it.”

Taeyong huffs but does as he says because it’s never been easy for him to deny Jaehyun, but mostly because he’s actually pretty exhausted from staying up late practising, working on new songs and taking care of the rest of the members.

Taeyong is comforted by the boy next to him and the warmth of their shared bed, and he feels himself relaxing, wrapped up in the comfortable silence they are sharing. It’s always comfortable with Jaehyun.

He’s half asleep by now, and he doesn’t mean to snuggle closer to Jaehyun, it just happens. He rests his head against the other boy’s shoulder. Taeyong doesn’t remember feeling this content before. Just this once, Taeyong’s completely at ease and doesn’t want to think about everything that is going on in their lives and what could possible happen if he decided to pursue what his heart has been desperately desiring for too long. So long it has started to hurt.

Jaehyun doesn’t seem to mind, but it’s hard to tell since Taeyong is dozing off. He’ll blame this situation on the sluggish state he’s currently in if Jaehyun asks about it tomorrow. For now, though, he keeps focusing on how warm and protected Jaehyun makes him feel. It’s intoxicating, being this close to Jaehyun, his whole body is buzzing pleasantly.

Suddenly, he feels a hand carding through his hair, and he doesn’t know if he’s awake or dreaming anymore. Either way, asleep or not, it feels awesome.

Taeyong wants to hold on to this moment a little longer and not think about the future. They have always been close, but things had just… somehow changed, all of a sudden. Taeyong had found himself growing jealous of how Jaehyun would laugh at the other members’ jokes, of how he’d smile at other idols. He knew it was dumb but he even felt jealous of their fans, sometimes, for receiving so much love from Jaehyun.

These feelings are not new to Taeyong, though. Taeyong’s felt such a way before concerning the younger, back during their pre-debut days, but he’d pushed them away. He’d managed to distract himself with debut and then comebacks, always finding something else to deal with aside from his ever-growing affection for his lovely dongsaeng.

Now, it seems, there’s nothing to distract him. Now, he realizes how far gone he actually is. How _in love_ he is. He can’t bring himself to be scared anymore, and Taeyong embraces it instead.

He wants to reach out and hold Jaehyun and kiss him so bad that it’s overwhelming. The action has always felt so inconceivable, but now he’s actually considering it.

“Still with me, Taeyongie?” Jaehyun asks, and Taeyong realizes that somewhere in the middle of his internal dialogue he turned around to face Jaehyun and has been staring for a long time. Probably way too long.

Taeyong doesn’t know how it happened but their faces are so close now that Jaehyun’s warm breath tickles his nose, and Taeyong has to gulp down hard any butterflies that fill his stomach at the proximity. Everything always feel so instinctive and automatic with Jaehyun, most of the time they don’t even have to word out their thoughts—they just understand each other that well.

“Always,” because it’s the first thing that comes to his mind. He knows that that’s probably not what Jaehyun meant, but Taeyong will always be with him, no matter what happens. He needs him to know that.

Jaehyun is straight up beaming at him now, and he looks gorgeous like this. It’s open and honest and fond.

Taeyong can only focus on the boy in front of him. There are so many things he wants to say to Jaehyun. Things like you’re so beautiful and you make my life so much better, thank him for always being so patient with his stubborn hyung and for always trusting and helping him, whenever and wherever. But Taeyong’s internal monologue is suddenly interrupted by the boy in front cupping his cheek, and his frustration gets replaced by soft confusion. Before he has a chance to really react, Jaehyun makes a quiet but unmistakable sound that can only be described as a soft sigh and leans into Taeyong’s space and slowly brushes his lips against Taeyong mouth, so light it’s barely considered a kiss. When Jaehyun sees Taeyong is not backing up from the contact–Taeyong would rather stop eating sweets, honestly– Jaehyun closes his eyes and finally presses his lips to Taeyong’s own.

They both practically melt into it. Taeyong responds instinctively by wrapping his arms around the other boy’s neck and kissing him back. It’s emotional, intense, and probably a little too rough, but it’s still everything Taeyong has ever wanted and more. Jaehyun takes Taeyong’s face with both of his hands and holds him in place as he kisses him deeper, and he can’t help but let out a moan against the younger’s mouth.

Taeyong blushes when he realizes that he just made that sound, and he can feel Jaehyun’s satisfied smile. It all becomes softer and more gentle after that; Jaehyun kisses him softly and so excruciatingly slow that Taeyong is starting to think that he is just teasing him at this point. He’s not complaining, though. Taeyong never thought he would get to have this, so he responds just as enthusiastically as the other boy and tries desperately to remain in this moment forever.

They pull apart when the need to breathe becomes too strong to ignore, and they just look at each other for a while. Taeyong can’t believe how lucky he is—because Jaehyun wants him, too. If he wasn’t convinced by the kiss, he definitely knows now, because he can see it in the way Jaehyun is looking at him right now. There is so much want and affection and adoration and _love_ in his eyes that Taeyong almost feels unworthy of it. He can feel himself getting flustered again, he just can't help it. It’s embarrassing, but the beautiful smile Jaehyun gives him makes it worth it.

“Where did that come from?” Taeyong asks, suddenly desperate to clear the air and get some answers. This is not what he was expecting to happen tonight.

Jaehyun huffs out a laugh and says, “I’ve wanted to do that for years, hyung,” to Taeyong’s surprise, “I- I thought you knew…”, and then, after a mischievous grin appears on his face, “…considering what happened a few days ago at the restaurant.”

Taeyong groans and hides his red blushed face in Jaehyun’s chest. “Let’s not talk about that please, I was so drunk.” Taeyong murmurs.

“And so beautiful. So _damn_ beautiful. The most beautiful person my eyes have ever seen,” Jaehyun answers, gently kissing the top of Taeyong’s head. “The prettiest,” he continues, loving how even more red Taeyong gets with each compliment.

“Stoooooop,” Taeyong softly whines. “You’re going to give my poor little heart a heart attack.” Jaehyun heartedly laughs at that. “I guess- I never realized until recently because I was blinded by my own feelings to notice yours… and you’re also pretty distracting.” That last part sounded less flirty in his head.

“Shut up now,” Jaehyun says with a shy smile on his face, ears crimson red, but not in a mean way—it sounds more like an endearment to Taeyong’s ears. “That makes two of us.”

Taeyong falls asleep that night in the other’s arms, wondering just how he’d managed to avoid such a moment for so long.


	7. Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
>  **Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018**  
>  Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

Mark shifts awkwardly on his feet as he halts in the doorway of the living room, having sighted Jaehyun and Taeyong cuddling on the sofa and watching a movie. He isn’t too sure if he should go in. If this is a date, he doesn’t want to interrupt. And it certainly looks like the couple want some privacy right now.

Jaehyun’s resting his back on the farthest armrest, with one leg off the couch and resting his foot on the floor, while the other is inbetween the couch cushions and Taeyong's body, the later's back on his chest, and they have their hands tightly intertwined on top of Taeyong’s stomach.

Mark most definitely doesn’t want to bother them. However, he doesn’t want to eat his carefully sliced watermelon alone in the kitchen since he’s never been good at eating alone. Eating in his room is completely out of the question too, as Doyoung had just nagged him that same morning for the mess around his bed. He could ask another member to eat with him but he has no idea where any of them are.

It’s only been a few weeks of Jaehyun and Taeyong officially dating and Mark had honestly thought he would be accustomed by now to seeing the two of them being all cute and randomly hugging and being all lovey-dovey with each other… but he’s not. Of course, everyone had seen it coming as those two have always been especially clingy with each other since their pre-debut days, but that doesn’t change the fact that many things have changed in their dynamics and in the group in general.

How are the members supposed to tell if they’re intruding on a private couple time? How can they tell the difference between the two just hanging out and the two being on a date? What signs are there to read to discern such things?

“Mark?” Taeyong suddenly asks, bringing Mark’s attention back to the matter at hand. He blinks, shoving such thoughts out of his mind as he tries for a gentle smile. Taeyong straightens up, frowning questioningly at the younger man. “Are you going to come sit down with us or are you going to stand there all day with a frown on your face?”

Mark has to bite back a sigh as his resolve weakens, Taeyong’s pout getting passed his defenses just as it always does. His gaze flicks to Jaehyun anxiously, unsure if it’s really okay to sit with them. At seeing Jaehyun giving him an encouraging grin, his shoulders visibly deflate, and Taeyong chuckles victoriously as Mark gulps, nodding as he shuffles into the room.

The younger sits awkwardly next to the couple, not too far but definitely not close either, trying to give them still some personal space, pulling his legs up and crossing them underneath him, balling himself up as he tries to lose himself in the family-friendly movie they were watching while he silently finishes his watermelon.

After a few minutes Mark steals a glance over at Taeyong and Jaehyun. The bitterness he felt melts away at the warm smiles on their faces, the happiness practically dripping off them. He loves them as his friends, as his bandmates, as his brothers and he can’t help but be happy for them.

They have managed to find that something special and unique in their hectic lives, and that’s beautiful.

When Mark finishes the watermelon, he sets the plate on top of the coffee table and leans back again against the couch. Great, now he feels awkward again, not knowing what to do with his hands or legs. Taeyong chuckles, having been observing Mark’s behavior since he sat down. He probably has already guessed Mark’s internal dilemma–Mark bets he secretly enjoys it, and before he understands what’s happening, he’s being pulled closer to the couple by Taeyong until they’re basically a sandwich hugging on the couch.

"Stop overthinking and enjoy the movie, Markie," Taeyong softly says behind him. "We're still the same as before."

Mark melts into the warmth of Taeyong’s chest and he can’t help but chuckle at the familiar touch, sharing a small but bright smile with Jaehyun behind Taeyong as he thinks that perhaps this isn’t so bad after all.


	8. Doyoung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
>  **Doyoung: shortly after Regular**  
>  Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
> Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

Doyoung releases a long sigh as he closes the front door behind him. He slips out of his shoes and shuffles into the dorm, rubbing at his face in exhaustion. God, the company is literally going to be the death of him if they don’t let up on the workload soon.

As he hurries further into the dorm, shooting small smiles at other members as he passes he sees Taeyong and Jaehyun on the couch, the shorter in the younger’s lap, making out… _again_. Doyoung grumbles in annoyance as he goes to his room. It’s great and all that those two have gotten together, as it’s offered the entire group a slight reprieve from their incessant and obvious pinning, but honestly, do they have to be making out every night when he gets home?

It isn’t that he’s unhappy with the others splitting off or anything when they have a day for themselves. He, in fact, couldn’t be happier for them. He just doesn’t get why they have to be so handsy all the damn time.

He can’t count the amount of times he’s walked in on Jaehyun and Taeyong making out or spooning on the couch. Just the other day, he’d been planning to go out with Johnny and they were in the kitchen discussing where to have dinner but they were stopped by a loud, sultry, heady moan echoing throughout the dorm that was unmistakably Taeyong’s.

They’d shared a glance, picked their bags and left to go to a movie. Doyoung had later sent Taeyong a text telling him to buy a muzzle or something, because he very much didn’t need to hear anything like that ever again.

Taeyong had sent back a 'good idea~ ;)’, which nearly made Doyoung vomit out the shrimp he’d had for lunch.

The vocalist does his best to block out the noise of those two sucking face as he walks into the bathroom, glad to be out of the room and with the idea of showering, hoping to relieve some of the accumulated stress.

After he finishes drying himself and dresses up in his pajamas, he walks into the kitchen trying to avoid the nosy couple in the living room but he instantly groans again when his eyes land on Taeyong, already hard working in front of the counter preparing their group dinner, with Jaehyun teasing him in hushed tones as he hugs the shorter from behind.

“I didn’t audition for this shit company to have to deal with your asses acting as a married couple on a daily basis,” Doyoung says out loud, with no real malice. The couple looks unfazed about the comment. They’re both laughing about something quietly and it looks like Jaehyun is whispering in Taeyong’s ear.

“What was that?” Taeyong says, pretending to cup his hand over his ears. “I can’t quite hear you over your jealousy.”

“Jealousy of what? No offense Jaehyun, you’re really not my type.”

“You only complain about us because your ass is as single as the first day.” Taeyong continues, sticking out his tongue. He’s quiet for a second, amused smile never leaving his lips. Then, he suddenly tilts his head, as if he just remember something very important, fond gaze fixing itself onto Jaehyun again and he studies him for a brief second. “Why don’t we try cooking that recipe you showed me a few days ago, now that we have some time?”

Apparently they have already forgotten Doyoung’s with them and they live with eight other guys.

Doyoung, as much as it pains himself to recognize this, loves to see them like this. It’s been over a year of them being together and they both look just as happy and enamoured as the first day. They’re both standing around in the comfort of just t-shirts and shorts, the makeup and the pressure and the anxiety, the masks that they all wear to hide themselves all washed away, and Jaehyun’s got his dopey face buried in Taeyong’s neck, though he’s not even doing anything exciting, just breathing in Taeyong’s scent and nosing at the sensitive skin beneath Taeyong’s ear, his breath tickling Taeyong and making his squirm and blush, Taeyong growing increasingly frustrated as Jaehyun laughs quietly, until Taeyong turns and pushes Jaehyun away, unable to hide his own smile and the affectionate shine in his eyes.

Doyoung grins as he observes them, the initial annoyance of what he had witnessed quickly giving way to contentment and joy. The couple doesn’t know this but he was there–accidentally–when their first kiss happened, for opening a bedroom door Doyoung thought was his. He was a little sick to remember the full details but he’s sure of what he saw. And that was a glimpse of Taeyong–the Tom to his Jerry whom he never gets tired of playfully teasing–at his most vulnerable. He had seen Taeyong actually blushing with stars in his eyes like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

If Doyoung wasn't such a good friend, there's no way he would ever be able to let Taeyong live this down.

But Doyoung is a good friend, and even though he's dying to tease his bandmates, Taeyong especially, he just raises an eyebrow knowingly and smirks at them, even if they can’t see him, too busy with each other.

Taeyong suddenly moves in for a hug around Jaehyun’s waist, Taeyong burying his face in Jaehyun’s neck as Jaehyun immediately pulls Taeyong in by his shoulders, petting his hair as Taeyong nuzzles Jaehyun’s skin for a few moments resting his chin on Jaehyun’s shoulder.

Love shines so clearly in their gaze as they stay close to each other, and Doyoung can’t find it in him to interrupt the small moment, so he turns back to his bedroom.


	9. Jungwoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
>  **Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour**  
>  Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour

They just got back to their dorm an hour ago after finishing the first part of their first tour. Jungwoo still can’t believe that really happened. He felt so, so grateful for the opportunity he received but his soft and comfy bed was desperately calling for him and the second he stepped foot in the apartment he went straight to sleep.

It’s probably around midnight when Jungwoo wakes up again, thirsty and with his mouth uncomfortably dry. He sneaks a glance towards Jaehyun’s bed on the other side of their shared bedroom when he seats up but finds it empty and surprisingly well made, as if it had not even been used since they left for The States a few weeks ago. Jungwoo furrows his eyebrows, not really worried, but questioning where his roommate could be at this hour instead of getting their well-deserved and needed rest.

The vocalist pads quietly through the dorm, doing his best to be as silent as possible. It’s dead in the night and the last thing he wants is to wake up one of the others. If he manages to wake up Doyoung accidentally _again,_ he’ll never hear the end of it. He makes his way to the kitchen and gets himself a large glass of cold water.

It’s only when Jungwoo puts aside the glass he just cleaned after drinking from it, and is making his way back to his bedroom when he notices the door to their balcony is slightly ajar, letting the brisk summer breeze in. And it’s also at that exact moment when Jungwoo hears a soft melody coming from the outside. Curious, he tiptoes to the door, making sure to hide his body behind the curtains as he gets close. What he sees on the other side of the glass door makes his heart melt into a warm poodle and his instincts have him freeze in place, absolutely silent.

Taeyong and Jaehyun are in the middle of the balcony, clad in their pajamas and slippers, tightly embracing each other, soft notes coming from one of their phones resting on the floor next to them, coursing through the air, hovering above their heads. Slow dancing.

Taeyong’s hands are wrapped around Jaehyun’s shoulders, tenderly playing with the end of Jaehyun’s hair and his head resting on Jaehyun’s firm chest, while Jaehyun has his arms snaked comfortably around Taeyong’s waist, resting his chin on top of Taeyong’s head.

Jungwoo feels like he shouldn’t be seeing this, he’s obviously intruding a really intimate moment. He knows he should definitely let them be, but he can’t seem to look away as the two bodies lazy sway across the balcony, Jaehyun softly humming to the indistinct song.

He can honestly understand where the need they felt to do this comes from. After all, they’ve been jumping from one city to another and performing every two nights for thousands of people for almost a month. Jungwoo knows why they took the first chance they had to be alone with the other.

Jungwoo has always found Jaehyun and Taeyong’s friendship very intriguing and fascinating. Since the first moment he met them, Jungwoo knew their bond was special and that they couldn’t be just bandmates, but it wasn’t until he moved in with the rest of the NCT 127 members that he realized the true implications of their relationship. It’s been a while since Jungwoo met the real them and yet, he still feels hypnotized every time he sees them together. Just like right now. It’s strange, but they seem to suit each other—Taeyong’s boundless and more carefree energy, Jaehyun’s more gentle, caring and quiet nature—they play off each other perfectly. Jungwoo just now realizes that he has never found himself very concerned about what would happen if they broke-up. He doesn't really see that situation even remotedly possible.

Jungwoo focuses on the couple again and notices they are now staring at each other in silence. They are just looking at each other, breathing in the same air. It seems like the noise around them drowns out, the music seems to get quieter and Taeyong can only seem to see Jaehyun, and vice versa.

Their mouths softly move as they stare at each other with nothing but deep affection in their eyes, the simple lyrics dancing off their lips, and even when they are just illuminated by the white bright moonlight, you can’t mistake the flush of their cheeks. It's the soft, sweet red that accompanies a racing heartbeat and butterflies in the stomach. Jungwoo knows exactly what kind of red it is and what it means.

Their faces are centimeters apart, and they’re looking at each other as if all the years they’ve been together weren’t enough and they wanted and needed to memorize every feature of the other every single day.

Jungwoo can see Jaehyun tightening his grip around the small of Taeyong’s back ever so slightly with one hand, as he reaches with the other one to tenderly cup Taeyong’s face, rubbing his thumb slowly over Taeyong’s cheek while Taeyong looks at him expectantly with soft, fluttering eyes.

Jaehyun tilts Taeyong’s chin up and takes one more good look at Taeyong’s beautiful face. Jaehyun is hovering over him like he's shielding him from the world, and Taeyong’s lips are slightly parted as he looks up at Jaehyun. The two of them are focused only on each other, and it seems that they haven't even noticed Jungwoo standing half hidden at the other side of the door. Taeyong looks so small and delicate underneath Jaehyun, but he doesn't even flinch, doesn't even blink, as Jaehyun moves closer. His eyes slip closed.

And then, Jungwoo watches as Jaehyun closes his own eyes and leans down to kiss Taeyong on the lips, oh so gently, as if he's afraid that Taeyong might break into a million little pieces.

It's not really a surprise, it really shouldn't, given the fact that Jungwoo has seen them kiss multiple times already—but never like this, this delicately. And Jungwoo has to suppress the gasp that almost escapes from his mouth at the sight.

Warmth surges through Jungwoo’s whole body as he watches the couple kiss. The moment feels like an eternity and a few seconds all at the same time. The music unfurls around them as their lips move in tandem, caught in a dance of their own. Jungwoo watches Jaehyun sigh into the kiss as he tightens his grip around Taeyong’s waist.

They break the kiss shortly after but they remain in each other’s space as Taeyong buries his nose in Jaehyun’s shirt once again, Taeyong’s head in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck with his arms against his chest.

Jungwoo sees Taeyong murmuring something into Jaehyun’s neck and the next instant he hears Jaehyun heartily laugh, only to hold Taeyong tighter so he fits more comfortably against his body, nudging in as closely as possible, and turns to give a quick, feather-light kiss to Taeyong’s temple.

Jungwoo’s chest actually aches at how happy and peaceful they look right now. He is so glad the two of them have each other, someone who understands them so well, to hold and support the other in everything they do no matter what, and he sincerely wishes they can be each other’s happiness and safe place for a very long time. He also wishes they could come out publicly so everyone could know what true love is, but he knows they can't.

After he decides he has witness and eavesdrop enough to satisfy his not-so-secret-shipper-heart, Jungwoo retrieves to his room trying not to alert any of the two of his presence, and watches as Jaehyun and Taeyong, now calm and soothing, continue to rock back and forth together, floating in their own happy bubble.

Existing and dancing together, under the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I don't think houses in Seoul have private balconies, but who cares.


	10. Johnny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun: pre-debut  
> Yuta: after Fire Truck  
> Sicheng: sometime after Limitless and before Cherry Bomb  
> Donghyuck: before Cherry Bomb  
> Taeil: after Cherry Bomb  
> Taeyong: after Cherry Bomb  
> Mark: sometime after Cherry Bomb and before NCT2018  
> Doyoung: shortly after Regular  
> Jungwoo: after the us leg of the neo city tour  
>  **Johnny: after super m's first leg of their world tour**

They're in the practice room working on the intense choreography for their upcoming comeback, and they've been going at it for hours now. They're all exhausted, breathing hard and drenched in sweat. The heavy beat pounds through the floor and through their bodies like a thrumming electric current, and their muscles are getting achingly sore.

It’s clearly time for a break so their choreography teacher stops the music, calls time and allows for a generous fifteen minutes. The second he finishes the sentence all the members immediately scatter in various directions.

Johnny sits down against the mirror and tips back his own bottle of ice-cold water, feeling revitalized as it flows down his throat. His legs are throbbing and each breath feels strained and prickly, like needles clawing at the inside of his chest.

He closes his eyes tightly for a few seconds and opens them again. He glances around the room to observe the rest of the members and notices that most of them are trying to catch their breaths again just like him, are already on their phones, or with their eyes closed, blocking the outside world for a while.

Most of them, except for two.

Jaehyun and Taeyong are still standing up on the other side of the room. Taeyong is doubled over with his hands on his knees and his head hanging down while Jaehyun leans against the wall, breathing hard and cheeks flushed pink.

Taeyong unscrews the cap of his water bottle and takes a few long sips, then puts it back down on the ground and goes back to practicing by himself.

He starts going through the motions of the choreography, humming the music to himself, deep in thought. Johnny watches him with fascination. He's not surprised; Taeyong has always been a perfectionist, and he absolutely hates struggling, no matter what it is that he's struggling with. Johnny knows that Taeyong won't rest until he's got the choreography down perfectly, and though Taeyong’s dedication and work ethic make Johnny very proud, he does worry a lot because Taeyong might push himself too hard more often than not, and criticize himself too much.

As Taeyong continues to practice, Jaehyun grabs his own water bottle and gulps it down, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallows. He eyes Taeyong as he drinks and even from across the room Johnny can see something shift in his eyes, can see them morph from intense concentration to warm, earnest affection.

Jaehyun puts down the bottle and strides over to Taeyong, one hand sliding to the small of Taeyong’s back and the other moving to rest on Taeyong’s shoulder. Taeyong jumps a little in surprise but when he sees that it's Jaehyun, he visibly softens. Johnny can see the tips of his ears go a little red and a small smile adorn his face.

Taeyong might be the main dancer of the group, but one thing that Johnny personally and objectively can say about NCT is that they are all really good dancers individually. And Jaehyun, just like most of them, has had more time to learn and practice this choreography while Taeyong and Mark were in America touring with the SuperM members.

And so, the next second he starts to guide Taeyong through the steps, smiling brightly as he maneuvers Taeyong’s body through the turns, moving Taeyong’s shoulders and his hips and his arms to show him exactly what he needs to be doing at each count of music.

Johnny can’t stop himself from grinning seeing Taeyong’s face, so shy and so flustered, bright red and his eyes darting around as he tries to focus on what Jaehyun is saying; as the same time as he watches Jaehyun look so like a guardian, protective and gentle as he murmurs instructions.

Jaehyun’s hands fall to Taeyong’s waist, his fingers gripping lightly, and Johnny watches with amusement as Jaehyun gives Taeyong a small, playful squeeze, causing Taeyong to yelp and spin around in Jaehyun’s grasp, hit him softly in the chest a few times as Jaehyun laughs, his smile wide, dimples on full display, and his eyes lovingly crinkled up.

Jaehyun then bends down to a squat and his hands shamelessly travel up to grip at Taeyong’s thighs. Taeyong’s eyebrows shoot up, his expression incredulous and the color on his face darkening, as Jaehyun starts to manhandle his legs, looking up at Taeyong from underneath narrowed eyes and a coy smile as he corrects Taeyong’s stance. Taeyong looks down, laughing in disbelief at Jaehyun’s cheekiness and shamelessness. The laughter is contagious, and soon Jaehyun starts laughing too and then the two of them are just staring at each other, neither of them moving, all wrapped up in their own little world, eyes locked and mirthful joy filling up the space between them.

Johnny glances around to check if anybody else is observing what's happening right now, but they all seem pretty distracted, or maybe they just decided to ignore the couple’s antics. Johnny turns back to Jaehyun and Taeyong, shaking his head a little in awe. He doubts from their interactions that the two of them would even care at all after all this time if anybody saw them right now, doubts they're thinking about anything but each other.

Taeyong wheezes a little as his laughter dies down and Jaehyun stands up again, still grinning so hard that it hurts Johnny’s face just to look at it. Jaehyun’s hand goes to Taeyong’s shoulder and he gives a gentle, encouraging squeeze just as the rest of the members start to get up. They return to their formation at the center of the room and stretch their muscles for round two. Johnny sees Jaehyun make eye contact with Taeyong from across the room. Jaehyun nods, the smile on his face now soft and sweet, and Taeyong returns it with a small, shy smile of his own.

As they start up practice a few minutes later, Johnny notices that Taeyong keeps throwing glances at Jaehyun, the two of them communicating with their eyes and Jaehyun nodding when he sees Taeyong getting all of the moves right.

When they're finally finished for the evening, all of the other members hollering and cheering in relief, Johnny sees Jaehyun walk over to Taeyong and gently cup his cheeks, looking down at him with soft eyes. Taeyong leans into Jaehyun’s touch, his eyes fluttering close as his breathing slows down and Jaehyun softly kisses Taeyong’s forehead.

They look at each other again and, this close, Johnny suddenly feels like he's intruding a very private moment, even though this is all happening as the other members walk around them.

The last thing Johnny sees as he makes his way towards the door with the others, grabbing his things as he goes, is Jaehyun and Taeyong holding hands, Jaehyun looking at Taeyong while Taeyong’s head turned, closing the door.

Jaehyun looks smitten, absolutely _smitten_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap.
> 
> I'm probably going to write a sequel(?) with the Dreamines and WayV but it will take a while to finish since I want to post them chronologically as well...
> 
> But anyways, thank you all for reading and enjoying this idea so much.


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